tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post7817180872305222924..comments2015-03-02T08:26:06.623-05:00Comments on The Green Weenie: Hot fun in the summertime...Ron Ieracinoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-57002117657189029132008-06-11T16:27:00.000-04:002008-06-11T16:27:00.000-04:00Well taken point, Bill, especially if Tyler Yates ...Well taken point, Bill, especially if Tyler Yates becomes trade bait as suggested by a couple of national sites. Even if he stays, a potential starter for a set-up guy isn't the greatest move in the baseball galaxy. But the Bucs thought they needed someone major league ready, we'd guess, so maybe overpayed a bit for Yates. <BR/>Redmond, btw, was the Player of the Week for AA Mississippi at the end of May, and in 13 starts has gone 77-1/3 innings with a 6-2 record, 3.72 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and 5:1 K to BB ratio. So the Bucs may have given up too soon on him, or he just may not have fit their profile. But he's doing quite well so far. And you're right that the Braves don't miss on identifying talent too often.Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08784507810080514099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-89570076587175921722008-06-11T13:46:00.000-04:002008-06-11T13:46:00.000-04:00BTW, although Yates has been mostly effective for ...BTW, although Yates has been mostly effective for us---and a key component of our pen, to be sure---we might yet live to regret seeing Redmond head out of town. Atlanta doesn't miss very often when it comes to evaluating talent, and I have to wonder about a trade in which they like someone and we (evidently) don't. If nothing else, Redmond might have been good insurance for our starting rotation when we have to let a couple guys walk (Maholm? Gorzellany?) rather than pony up big bucks to keep them. Not that you can't develop more pitching in the meantime, and on that score maybe Lincoln's arm is sound and a couple guys from this year's draft can rise quickly through our system. <BR/><BR/>I'm just nervous about getting rid of Redmond when our system is as thin as it currently is, that's all I'm saying.WilliamJPellashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774466220683142262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-19406930911484361682008-06-10T22:46:00.000-04:002008-06-10T22:46:00.000-04:00Good point, Bill, but I'm not so sure that they're...Good point, Bill, but I'm not so sure that they're ignoring off speed guys as much as trying to balance an organization that went overboard on them in the Littlefield years.<BR/>Judging them now may be doing them an injustice. We'll have to see what kind of arms they feed into the system over the years. Being AL guys, the tendency for them is to look for power arms, we'll admit. <BR/>But there's also the old baseball saw that says you teach a guy any pitch except the fastball.<BR/>Our guess is that they'll look for a mix in the long run, just to keep opponents off balance. But as with any work in progress, we'll see down the road.Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08784507810080514099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-55505849164519249902008-06-10T19:26:00.000-04:002008-06-10T19:26:00.000-04:00Agreed that the Redmond-for-Yates deal means this ...Agreed that the Redmond-for-Yates deal means this administration favors power arms over control pitchers. Again, in general, I get that and agree---but as frustrating as it is to watch Zach Duke get his brains bashed in from time to time, he can still be awfully effective when he's on his game. And there are few things as maddening as a "power arm" that walks the bases full every third inning. <BR/><BR/>So, we'll see what happens going forward, but it seems that this brain trust will take someone who throws hard over someone who doesn't, as their first consideration in evaluating pitching talent.WilliamJPellashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774466220683142262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-42345472571877273072008-06-10T18:41:00.000-04:002008-06-10T18:41:00.000-04:00Bill, we were a bit surprised at that move, given ...Bill, we were a bit surprised at that move, given that Rogers is RH, was throwing pretty well, and is only 25. But they showed their hand when they dealt Todd Redmond for Tyler Yates. A pitcher has to be special to impress the new suits if he's a nibbler, and apparently they saw him a block to some arms they wanted to look at.<BR/>He was released June 4th, and a week later he's still not on anyone else's roster, so they must share the majority opinion on his upside.Ronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08784507810080514099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-60072484069776222462008-06-10T13:16:00.000-04:002008-06-10T13:16:00.000-04:00BTW, Rogers was pitching very well this season in ...BTW, Rogers was pitching very well this season in the minors. While his big league resume to date was thin and unimpressive, it was also incomplete. I don't know that he is the kind of guy we should have sent packing, at least not yet. Meanwhile doesn't Indy have some guy in his late 30s pitching for them? And somehow Rogers isn't big league material while this other guy, I guess, is? That's leaving aside such leading lights as Ty Taubenheim and Jason Davis. <BR/><BR/>Nope, not buying it. I think this was a case of new management getting rid of old management's acquisitions just to chart a new course.WilliamJPellashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774466220683142262noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6207200414495313452.post-80752395532784748152008-06-10T13:13:00.000-04:002008-06-10T13:13:00.000-04:00I'm not sure I buy the reasons that have been floa...I'm not sure I buy the reasons that have been floated for Brian Rogers' release. Although in general it's better to have a staff of "power arms" than a staff of soft-tossing "pitch to contact" types, pure velocity in and of itself is no guarantee of success. Sure, the fastball is sexy, we all get that. But would Randy Johnson have won as many games as he has if he couldn't throw strikes? Ask Nolan Ryan. It took him the better part of a decade before he could get the ball across the plate with any consistency---which is part of the reason why he LOST nearly 300 games in his career! (He also played on A LOT of terrible teams.)<BR/><BR/>Anyway, seems to me that ideally you need both. Hard throwers and a few soft-tossers, if only to mess with the enemy's head and lineup from day to day and inning to inning. Certainly at minimum you gotta have hard throwers who also throw strikes.WilliamJPellashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12774466220683142262noreply@blogger.com